Head in the clouds
by havelocke
Summary: Selphie manages to get Riku to go cloud watching. [riku. selphie.] au.


**Note:** One true pair anyone?

* * *

Head in the clouds

* * *

Riku stared at the chemical equation and tried his best to make heads or tails out of it. Chemistry wasn't his best subject and he couldn't rely on the answer key in the back, since the teacher wanted them to show their work. He sighed and decided that doodling on the corner of his paper would be better than jarring his brain for the answer. 

He wished he was fourteen again. At that age, everyone hung out at the island. Wakka and Tidus kept themselves busy by playing blitzball and sparring with Sora and him. Sometimes Selphie would join them and Kairi would cheer her on in the background. Life back then was all about playing around in the sand and having a good time.

Now, at the age of seventeen, Riku was always bogged down with homework and the worry of picking a good university became a thick rain cloud that hung over him. All he wanted was to put those worrisome things aside and hang out, but everyone was busy. Wakka and Tidus joined the blitzball team, Sora and Kairi finally started dating, and Selphie probably had her nose buried deep in another romance novel.

Riku put his pencil down. He wanted to relax and the chemistry homework that was now riddled with tiny pictures of expressions was only bringing his morale down. Maybe he should just go to the island by himself?

There was a knock on his window sill and Riku's mind quickly concluded that it was Sora. He smirked and got up, but frowned when he turned to see who it was.

"Are you busy?" Selphie asked smiling. She still wore her school uniform.

"Why?" He looked at her suspiciously. Besides being known as the resident romantic, Selphie was also known for being an eccentric individual with odd hobbies.

She pouted (cutely) and huffed (cutely); offended that he would even ask such a question. He folded his arms over his chest and waited for her to answer.

"Well, I was gonna ask Wakka and Tidus if they wanted to hang out, but they're at practice. Sora and Kairi are _still_ working on their health project, despite the fact that I caught them making out behind the old book case in the library, twice. So that leaves you."

"As the last resort?"

"Oh Riku, you know I didn't mean it like that."

She climbed inside his room and fixed her plaid blue skirt that rode up a bit.

"I'm not desperate. I genuinely want to hang out with you. You don't need to worry. I'm not like everyone else; who, by the way, think you're a pathetic loser who prefers to do homework and stay in on Saturday nights rather than go outside and get fresh air like a normal human being."

He rolled his eyes.

"Thank you, Selphie."

"You're welcome!" she chirped, oblivious of the condescending meaning of her previous comments.

She walked toward his desk and stood in front of him.

"So, what do you say?"

He bit his lip while he thought. That chemistry homework wasn't going to get done itself, but then he _was_ debating on going to the island to relax.

"Hey, those are good," she said, eyeing the drawings on his homework. He quickly covered his homework with a math textbook. He didn't want to share that part of him yet. Not even Sora knew that he took pleasure in drawing. She frowned at his reaction.

"So, will you go?"

She took one step forward and the distance between them was suddenly too close for Riku's comfort. He realized then, that her eyes were a shade darker than the green leaves that rustled in the wind outside. She also smelled sweet, like cotton candy, and it made his mind reel back to memories of the summer.

"Want to go to the island?" His throat felt dry and he licked his lips.

Selphie smiled, happy that Riku was going to hang out with her.

"No."

She clasped her hands and narrowed her gaze. Her eyes darkened with a determination that Riku hadn't seen since she started sparring with them.

He smirked.

"Let's go cloud watching!"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Cloud watching?"

"Yeah, it's simple, clean, and fun."

_What? No pose?_ He thought to himself as she reminded him of a Sailor Moon character.

"Well?"

He admitted that cloud watching sounded stupid. But then he wouldn't be alone doing it. Selphie would probably make things interesting with her over active imagination and her melodramatic tendencies.

"Sure, I'll go."

* * *

What. The. Hell. 

Riku tried his best to keep his anger under control as he tried to keep Selphie's balance on his shoulders. He didn't think that when she said cloud watching she meant…

"Ohh…bend like that…oh yeah."

…watching Cloud Strife.

Currently, Riku was her accomplice as she stood on his shoulders. She was taking pictures of an oblivious Cloud Strife, who conveniently enough, came out the shower, and was looking for a towel.

She giggled.

"That's not-where-I-put-it," she said in a sing-song voice.

"Selphie?"

There was the sound of the digital camera clicking away.

"Hmmm?"

"I don't think Cloud is going to find that towel very soon. Why doesn't he just get dressed instead of looking for a replaceable towel, _naked_ is beyond me, but I have more pressing issues to tend to."

"Like what?"

_Oh, I don't know, like your weight making your heels dig into my shoulders._

"I have to finish my Chemistry homework."

Calling Selphie fat would be like calling forth Armageddon.

"Riku, loosen up. Your life can't revolve around school all the time."

He groaned.

Why was he doing this?

It was not for the fact that if Riku tilted his head upwards just right he could see Selphie's cute rubber ducky underwear, (Selphie kicked him really hard the first time he did) no, Riku was a gentleman. He was doing this because it was in his best interest. He did not want her showing all the pictures she had of _him_ (God, he was going to shower with a bathing suit from now on) to the entire female population at their school.

"Selphie, can we go now?"

"But Leon hasn't come home to join Cloud yet."

"Selphie!" Riku growled.

"Riku!" She mocked him back.

"Don't you think this is wrong? You're invading someone's privacy."

"Would you feel better if I let you look up my skirt again?"

He sighed.

"In all honesty, I was actually looking forward to hanging out with you, Selphie." He leaned his head back so that it rested against the wall. "No matter how dumb cloud watching sounded, I actually wanted to go because it was with you."

Selphie stiffened and the sound of the camera clicking stopped. She looked down at Riku, who looked up to her.

"Really?"

"I thought we could lay there just enjoying each other's company." He pictured them lying next to each other on the soft grass and letting the cool sea breeze brush up against their bodies.

Selphie smiled and Riku was reminded of the girl whose bright demeanor always put the sun to shame.

"You know. I think that's a good idea," she said putting the camera away in her breast pocket. "Ready to catch me?"

"I don't know. You're kind of heavy."

"Riku," she whined.

He chuckled and helped her down. She giggled when she landed. Her arms formed a gentle grip around his neck; her face buried in his hair. She felt soft to the touch and warm. Riku tried his best not to nuzzle into her neck and breathe in the scent of watermelon and cotton candy. She pulled away from him, her nose scrunched up, trying to get silver hair out of her face. He tried not to laugh at how cute she looked and failed. She cleared her throat, glaring at him with mock anger and eventually laughing herself. Riku realized that his hands were still around her waist and he let go quickly. He felt his ears grow hot. She gave him a concerned look as he tried to avoid making eye contact.

"Um…" He tried to think of something, anything to deflect her questioning of his current embarrassed state.

"Tell you what." He looked up to her. She was smiling at him and leaned forward to take his hand. "How about I treat you to some ice cream and then we can go to the island and do some real cloud watching?"

He smirked and shrugged. He didn't want her to see that he lost his cool for a second.

"Sure."


End file.
